Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Last Friday I had a doctor's appointment so my mom kept the kids for me.

I've been meaning to upload this video for a while now and I tried while I was bored out of my mind waiting on the doctor, to only realize I can't upload videos on my mobile.

It's from last week when Jaycelyn spontaneously brought to my attention that she knows how to spell her name. She is such a smart girl and eager to learn anything and everything!

She does have some funny little voice she's talking in for this video. Probably because she's "acting" and I put her on the spot. And me...ugh, I hate hearing my voice on camera!

Since then, Noah has learned to spell his name too! I'm so proud of him! He was having a hard time because A and H sound so much alike. He kept saying N.O.H.H so I wrote each letter on a separate piece of paper and taped them side by side on the wall. Visually seeing that the letters were different made a world of difference. In less than an hour he had it down!

While I was gone to the doctor on Friday, my mom let the kids have some messy fun. She made colored cool whip and let them play with it like finger paint. They made a huge mess, but had a blast! Here are some pictures she took.

Since I'm almost finished preparing for Christmas, I have thoroughly been taking advantage of the holiday season. These are a few things I hate about seeing the holidays go...

I plan to make the chocolate covered pretzels tomorrow, but my Noah Reid has been sick all day today so there may be a trip to the doctor in our near future. Bless his heart, you can tell he doesn't feel good. Please keep him your prayers!

I was really bummed a couple years ago when I lost over 6,000 photos that were on my computer when it crashed. I found some pictures the other day that seem like ages ago. I'm glad to have some back, even if it is a few.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Thursday afternoon, Eli had his 15 month check up along with his 12 month that I missed. To be fair, he was running a fever the week I was supposed to take him and by the time I called to make an appointment, they scheduled it for a month out. Sooo, I'm not that bad right!? I did feel really terrible though when he had to get 6 shots! It kind of pissed me off that the nurse was SO slow and my baby had to be held down screaming in pain while she took her sweet time. That's definitely one of the hardest things about being a parent. Seeing your baby in pain for something that has to be done and there's nothing you can do. It's probably actually harder on us than it is them.

While we were there, even before the shots, Eli screamed almost the entire time throwing a tantrum. So loud and constant that I couldn't even hear what the doctor was saying. This child has a temper and he does not give up easy. He's starting to realize that he doesn't get everything he wants. I wound up feeding him two suckers and a whole bag of fruit loops just to try and keep him happy. Here are a couple of pics I took before he started throwing his fits.

His stats were:

Weight: 28.6 lbs.

Height: 33 inches

HC: 19 1/4 inches

I'd say he's a pretty big boy! :)

Thursday night, the kids and I went to the Christmas parade in town. I don't guess I have much to say about it except it was way better than I expected. The kids had a great time seeing and playing with their friends.

I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy talking and trying to catch up with friends from high school. Here are a few I did get though.

I put together a list of 200+ stocking stuffer ideas (with a little help from others) divided into age categories, ranging from free to a little over $100. Some people choose to do larger amount gifts in the stockings so Hey, you might find something! :)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

A while back I bought some magic model clay so that I could add the kids hand prints to my tree this year.

Last weekend my sister and Conner were over so we decided to make them

Jason decided he needed to help us, so he started rolling out and forming the clay (redneck style).

Noah went first...

Then Jaycelyn...

Conner sat in the highchair and ate yogurt melts until it was his turn...

Christian forgot to take Conner's so it's on my tree for now.

Then Eli had his turn...

I love how they turned out.

I used a piece of Jute to hang them and left them with the natural look.

There are recipes on pinterest to make your own clay but I found a tub of this clay at Hobby Lobby so I just opted for the easy way out.

Jason even had a little fun with it too.

J & N also did these fun little snowman ornaments.

Maybe Eli can join in on this one next year. It just wasn't happening this time.

One tradition that I started with the kids is for them to pick out their very own new ornament to add to the tree every year. I write their name and age on the back of it. When they are grown, they will already have a collection of ornaments for their tree and will also have some special meaning to them. If not, then I will just continue to put them on mine! :)

What new ornaments or priceless treasures are you adding to your tree this year?

Friday, November 30, 2012

Wow have I been busy over the past week! Clearly because I'm posting about Thanksgiving over a week late!
After what happened with Bella on Wednesday, Thanksgiving with family and friends and the long weekend helped us feel better. The kids still talk about her at least once a day and say they miss her often. I think about her often too. Like yesterday when I saw some squirrels on our back porch, and thought how happy they must be. I know they're not missing her. And I had a mini breakdown the other day when I finally made myself wash her food and water bowls and put them away.
I think we are done with the pets for a while. I have enough things to worry about and care for. I guess we'll just see how it goes.

On Thanksgiving, we had lunch at my grandmothers house. It was a good day and good food! We stayed most of the day talking and looking at Black Friday ads. We left around 7:00 and headed home. I put the kids in bed and headed out to meet my mom and sister for some shopping.
Here are some of the very few pics my sister and I took on Thanksgiving :)

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I've been decorating for a week now and I'm finally finished. I changed my Christmas tree up this year and I love how it came together. I'll share soon. Have a great weekend! :)

About Me

I'm Rachel! I love my wonderful husband Jason and our three beautiful children Jaycelyn, Noah, and Eli. ;) I thank God most of all for richly blessing us with what is most important. I strive daily to be a better wife and mother to my family and find better ways to run my household. I am now a SAHM which I LOVE so I'm trying to find what works for us. I'm honestly too OCD when it comes to some things, I love doing new projects and crafts or anything DIY, cooking new recipes, Alabama Football, planning events, bonfires, dinner with our families on a regular basis, and of course spoiling my babies and teaching them new things.